Great idea M0ngy but I do not think it will happen. The inwards...

Great idea M0ngy but I do not think it will happen. The inwards ALP NT ministry wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. But we can dream.

If it did happen, it would be Darwin based. That's for 2 reasons (1) politics; and (2) proximity to the off-shore gas fields. CTP gas might get a look in but I doubt it. I think we would find STO and Suez cranking up either the Petrel field or the Frigate field both of which are handy to either ENI's Blacktip pipeline or Inpex's pipe.

The CTP/STO Mereenie JV has its own opportunity staring it in the face to increase their net return from Mereenie oil and to make the punters happy. Currently we gross AUD$70/bbl but we must transport it to Port Bonython and then on to Singapore. Those costs must shave AUD$30 out of our gross. Take out a further AUD$14/bbl for royalties and we are netting AUD$36.

We should take over the mini-refinery in in Alice Springs and be refining there. We could sell the refined product (and bi-product - e.g. bitumen) directly into the Centralian market. We would nett $56/bbl after royalties selling into our refinery at full Tapis price and the feed stock would still be mega-cheap for sale into the local market.

If Tapis goes to US$60 (AUD$96) as is predicted in the near future, CTP would be netting AUD$80/bbl after royalties. That is as good as we used to get when Tapis was US$125 and the AUD$ was US$0-95.

We really should be doing that.